There are a good amount of folks out there freaking out over the announcement that I read in SBJ this morning. The title of the article read “Fee Based Component Coming to March Madness Online.” Immediately Twitter was set ablaze with people throwing their hands in the air in disgust wondering why they needed to pay 3.99 to watch the NCAA tournament now. Upon an actual read of the article it is clear to see the following:

- If you have TNT or TBS already, you will NOT need to pay the 3.99 fee to see every game online

- If you do NOT have TNT or TBS, you should have absolutely NO problem paying 3.99 to watch every game online

- When is the last time a NCAA Tournament game was NOT played on CBS, TBS or TNT? Not that I can remember, so if you have these channels, you are fine to watch (as you did last year) the games streaming online at work, for no charge.

Turner Sports is dramatically reworking its online coverage of the upcoming NCAA men’s basketball tournament to include a distribution plan that features a fee-based component. The new March Madness Live, rebranded from March Madness On Demand, will work primarily on a TV Everywhere-based model in which games will still be available for free streaming online on an authenticated basis. For example, a tournament game shown on TBS can also be seen live and for free online by fans who get TBS on their cable or satellite system, and authenticate themselves through the channel’s website.

Fans who either cannot authenticate, or choose not to do so, can buy a $3.99 all-access pass that includes coverage of all 67 tournament games across all major digital platforms and includes live statistics and social media integration. Tournament games shown on CBS will remain free online at CBSSports.com.

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